When Close to Home is Close to Home

11-17-2004, 03:47 PM

This happened about 200 yards from my front door:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

You can see the spot in my homepage photo:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Pecos is the four-lane road with the wide median at the
very bottom of the picture. The shrine is about midway
between the two power-pole shadows that fall across it.

I remember seeing the shrine (it's a hispanic thing;
usually a cross and some plastic flowers, but it can be
more elaborate) the day after it happened. I thought it
was just another traffic accident. Then I read the story.

It's now one of two shrines to cyclists killed within
the confines of that photograph. The other is on the
south side of the intersection of Liberty (the darker
road with the center-turn lane) and 17th Street (the
short north-south street on the left). It's for a 9-
or 10-year-old boy, also riding in a bike lane, hit by a
car 4 years ago. His family still maintains it.

I ride past each of them four times when I'm doing my
normal loop-ride, east on Liberty then west on Pecos.

Anselmo's shrine is growing. Clearly a grandfather with a
loving family. I was wondering if the local riders would
add to it as well. Then on my third lap this morning I
noticed someone had left him a water bottle.

--Blair
"Two wheels good."

11-17-2004, 04:15 PM

Blair P. Houghton wrote:

> This happened about 200 yards from my front door:
>
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

[Quoting from the linked article]
If Cabanillas was impaired by drugs or alcohol, the case will go to the
Maricopa County Attorney's Office for a decision on prosecution, said
Morales.

But if there was no impairment, "it could have been an instant of
inattention. If that's the case then you're talking nothing more than a
traffic violation," for failure to control his vehicle, Morales explained.
[snip]

*Traffic violation??*

What was it Fred Flintstone used to say? Muss'n fuss'n brick-n-brack-n . .
.. .

Hey, Blair: keep us posted on this, will ya'?

11-17-2004, 04:15 PM

Blair P. Houghton wrote:

> This happened about 200 yards from my front door:
>
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

[Quoting from the linked article]
If Cabanillas was impaired by drugs or alcohol, the case will go to the
Maricopa County Attorney's Office for a decision on prosecution, said
Morales.

But if there was no impairment, "it could have been an instant of
inattention. If that's the case then you're talking nothing more than a
traffic violation," for failure to control his vehicle, Morales explained.
[snip]

*Traffic violation??*

What was it Fred Flintstone used to say? Muss'n fuss'n brick-n-brack-n . .
.. .

Hey, Blair: keep us posted on this, will ya'?

11-17-2004, 04:15 PM

Blair P. Houghton wrote:

> This happened about 200 yards from my front door:
>
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

[Quoting from the linked article]
If Cabanillas was impaired by drugs or alcohol, the case will go to the
Maricopa County Attorney's Office for a decision on prosecution, said
Morales.

But if there was no impairment, "it could have been an instant of
inattention. If that's the case then you're talking nothing more than a
traffic violation," for failure to control his vehicle, Morales explained.
[snip]

*Traffic violation??*

What was it Fred Flintstone used to say? Muss'n fuss'n brick-n-brack-n . .
.. .

Hey, Blair: keep us posted on this, will ya'?

11-17-2004, 04:15 PM

Blair P. Houghton wrote:

> This happened about 200 yards from my front door:
>
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

[Quoting from the linked article]
If Cabanillas was impaired by drugs or alcohol, the case will go to the
Maricopa County Attorney's Office for a decision on prosecution, said
Morales.

But if there was no impairment, "it could have been an instant of
inattention. If that's the case then you're talking nothing more than a
traffic violation," for failure to control his vehicle, Morales explained.
[snip]

*Traffic violation??*

What was it Fred Flintstone used to say? Muss'n fuss'n brick-n-brack-n . .
.. .

Hey, Blair: keep us posted on this, will ya'?

11-17-2004, 06:01 PM

"Blair P. Houghton" wrote:
>
> It's now one of two shrines to cyclists killed within
> the confines of that photograph.

> It's for a 9-or 10-year-old boy, also riding in a
> bike lane, hit by a car 4 years ago. His family still maintains it.

I wonder what the odds are on two separate cyclist fatalities (out
of 7,000-8,000 per decade in the USA) happening within sight of
each other. I also wonder if it was in spite of or partly caused
by the bike lane.

Mitch.

11-17-2004, 06:01 PM

"Blair P. Houghton" wrote:
>
> It's now one of two shrines to cyclists killed within
> the confines of that photograph.

> It's for a 9-or 10-year-old boy, also riding in a
> bike lane, hit by a car 4 years ago. His family still maintains it.

I wonder what the odds are on two separate cyclist fatalities (out
of 7,000-8,000 per decade in the USA) happening within sight of
each other. I also wonder if it was in spite of or partly caused
by the bike lane.

Mitch.

11-17-2004, 06:01 PM

"Blair P. Houghton" wrote:
>
> It's now one of two shrines to cyclists killed within
> the confines of that photograph.

> It's for a 9-or 10-year-old boy, also riding in a
> bike lane, hit by a car 4 years ago. His family still maintains it.

I wonder what the odds are on two separate cyclist fatalities (out
of 7,000-8,000 per decade in the USA) happening within sight of
each other. I also wonder if it was in spite of or partly caused
by the bike lane.

Mitch.

11-17-2004, 06:01 PM

"Blair P. Houghton" wrote:
>
> It's now one of two shrines to cyclists killed within
> the confines of that photograph.

> It's for a 9-or 10-year-old boy, also riding in a
> bike lane, hit by a car 4 years ago. His family still maintains it.

I wonder what the odds are on two separate cyclist fatalities (out
of 7,000-8,000 per decade in the USA) happening within sight of
each other. I also wonder if it was in spite of or partly caused
by the bike lane.

Mitch.

11-17-2004, 09:25 PM

Wow.. ****..

We recently got bike lanes in a major street, and the papers were FILLED
with pissed off people that were against the lanes. Mainly because the rode
went from 4 lanes to 2 because of the bike lane additions.. so the car
people werent' happy. Whenever I ride on these bike lanes, I'm afraid
someone in a car is going to get pissed off and take it out on me because
they're stuck at a red light at 5:15PM.

Mike

"Blair P. Houghton" <b@p.h> wrote in message
news:UiSmd.5275647$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> This happened about 200 yards from my front door:
>
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> You can see the spot in my homepage photo:
>
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> Pecos is the four-lane road with the wide median at the
> very bottom of the picture. The shrine is about midway
> between the two power-pole shadows that fall across it.
>
> I remember seeing the shrine (it's a hispanic thing;
> usually a cross and some plastic flowers, but it can be
> more elaborate) the day after it happened. I thought it
> was just another traffic accident. Then I read the story.
>
> It's now one of two shrines to cyclists killed within
> the confines of that photograph. The other is on the
> south side of the intersection of Liberty (the darker
> road with the center-turn lane) and 17th Street (the
> short north-south street on the left). It's for a 9-
> or 10-year-old boy, also riding in a bike lane, hit by a
> car 4 years ago. His family still maintains it.
>
> I ride past each of them four times when I'm doing my
> normal loop-ride, east on Liberty then west on Pecos.
>
> Anselmo's shrine is growing. Clearly a grandfather with a
> loving family. I was wondering if the local riders would
> add to it as well. Then on my third lap this morning I
> noticed someone had left him a water bottle.
>
> --Blair
> "Two wheels good."